Over twenty local miners have been reportedly arrested in the afternoon hours of Friday December 22nd, 2023 around the operational areas of the Leone Rock Metal Group in Tonkolili District, Northern Sierra Leone.
A joint team of the Sierra Leone Police and the Republic of Sierra Leone Arm Forces, a source said stormed the mining site around the operational area of the company and arrested several local miners.
The miners arrested are all from the relocated communities of Ferengbeia, Wondugu, and Foria. According to residents, they were relocated to the new settlement with no provision of some basic facilities like water and lands to do their agricultural activities. To fend for themselves, the villagers reportedly went to the mining sites to engage in small scale mining.
When contacted to ascertain the authenticity of the story, the Leone Rock Metal Group Community Affairs Manager confirmed the arrest to be true, but he said the action was meant to protect the local miners.
Robert Salia Kamara said the arrest was done by the Sierra Leone Police and the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces .
The arrest, Salia said was in the best interest of the locals as the Company is blasting around the Concession areas adding that they have engaged members of the affected communities to stay away from the area for their safety.
In recent times, he said they learnt that the local miners are still going to the prohibited areas to do mining.
“The company would be held responsible should there be any danger to any of those locals engaging in mining around the concession areas,” Salia noted.
Those arrested, he said would be released and strictly warned. The perpetrators were confirmed to have been moved to the Magburaka Police Station.
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